The invention relates to a vehicle roof of the type having an operating device by which at least one cover of a cover arrangement may, from a position closing a roof opening, be swung into a raised position and then slid back. In particular, wherein for the sliding movement, guide rails are fastened on both sides of the roof opening under the fixed roof surface, a first slider and a second slider connected to a drive device being guided in a slidable manner within each guide rail, and wherein, for the swinging movement, the cover system is supported in a pivotal manner on the first slider, and the second slider can slide in relation to the first slider and is connected by a lifting device to a raising lever that is pivotally connected to the cover system at its end spaced furthest from the first slider. The lifting device acts on an intermediate portion of raising lever. Further a locking device is provided, which prevents the cover system from sliding in relation to the guide rails during swinging movement between the closed position and the raised position.
In a known roof with an operating device of this type (German Offenlegungsschrift 33 11 452), the first slider is formed from a slide shoe with a pivot pin, on which a cover support for the cover of a spoiler roof is articulated. The raising lever carries, in its longitudinal center area, a link pin with a slide shoe that is guided in a sliding manner in a respective guide rail. By operation of the lifting device, the raising lever can be swung around this link pin. On the front end of the raising lever, which is located opposite the link pin, a guide element is fastened which, when the cover is raised, plunges into the guide rail and which, when the cover is swung into the closed position, moves upward out of the guide rail and rests against a turned-up stop of the guide rail. The stop, together with the guide element, forms the locking device, which prevents the cover from sliding in relation to the respective guide rail as the cover is swung between the closed and raised positions. In the known operating device, the achievable stability leaves much to be desired.
The invention, thus, has a primary object of providing a roof with an operating device, of the type initially mentioned, which is marked by an especially simple, sturdy and reliable construction that requires little space.
This object, according to the present invention, is obtained by having the front end of the raising lever pivotally connected to a respective first slider. By the articulation both of the cover system and also of the raising lever on the first slider, a particularly stable design is obtained, which effectively prevents uncontrolled cover movements.
Preferably, the pivot bearing connecting the front end of the raising lever with the first slider is compactly arranged under the cover system in the closed position of the cover system, suitably on the rear upper end of the first slider. As a result a relatively small swunging angle of the raising lever is sufficient to bring the cover system, for example the cover of a spoiler roof or a segment of a segmental roof (of the type shown in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 32 02 646) into a predetermined oblique position in relation to the fixed roof surface. The articulation point of the raising lever on the cover system can be shifted far back, which also contributes to enhanced stability. With little overall height of the operating device, comparatively great raising movements of the cover system can be forced.
The lifting device can be designed in a known way, as a guiding slide system of the type shown in the above-mentioned German Offenlegungsschrift No. 33 11 452. In this case, a single link guide generally suffices, for example in the form of a guide slot, with which a link pin or the like works. Advantageously, the lifting device acts in the area of the front half of the raising lever, as a result of which a lever translation is obtained, which converts a small lift travel of the lifting device into a large elevational adjustment of the raising lever end acting on the cover system, and thus further serves to minimize the overall height of the operating device.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.